Task Injection – Exploiting agency of autonomous AI agents (bughunters.google.com)

A recent blog post unpacks the concept of Task Injection, a security vulnerability affecting autonomous AI agents that perform various tasks, notably in web environments. Unlike Prompt Injection, where an attacker embeds instructions within data fed to AI systems, Task Injection involves crafting environments that present sub-tasks that can lead to unauthorized actions. This becomes particularly dangerous because these sub-tasks seem legitimate and relevant to the main task directed by the user, enabling attackers to execute actions like data exfiltration without triggering traditional security mitigations like Prompt Injection classifiers. The significance of this vulnerability is amplified as AI agents grow increasingly capable and complex, often requiring them to follow user-defined but untrusted tasks. For instance, an attacker can manipulate an AI agent tasked with summarizing a webpage to first complete a CAPTCHA that inadvertently leaks sensitive information, such as user emails or OAuth codes. This highlights a critical need for robust security defenses that adapt alongside the evolving capabilities of AI agents. As the demand for these systems increases, the AI/ML community must prioritize enhancing security frameworks to counter both Task and Prompt Injection risks better, particularly through more sophisticated, domain-specific protections that include runtime policy enforcement and human oversight.